Whales and Dolphins of Monterey

 

By now you know we really like being on the central California coast.  The weather has mostly been nice but we did have one day that we saw more gray skies than sunshine.  The fog rolled in and even brought us a few sprinkles of moisture.

On Monday we decided to do another whale watching tour.   The water was flat in the harbor but it certainly didn’t stay that way.  The sea lions were sunning as we leisurely moved past the opening.

We’ve done a few whale watching tours. We know that whales are unpredictable.  The captains of the boats know where they are feeding  so if you’re going on a tour, you’re bound to see a few whales.  However, being in the right position and ready when the whales surface or do their famous flips, isn’t always possible.  Tour boats are also required to stay about 100 yards from the whales.  Unless you have a good zoom and already focused on your camera, the chance of getting a super shot is not real good.  Besides that the water doesn’t always stay flat on the water.  Who knows when the next swell could come around.  It could be just about the time you’re getting ready to snap that perfect shot.

The most amazing part of our whale watching tour wasn’t the whales at all.  It was the frenzy caused by dolphins.  Boy, was it a frenzy.  We were all trying to get pictures of the dolphins but since the boat was bouncing, we were all bouncing as well.  We were also trying to capture the moment while shooting into the sun.  Oh well … it was still an amazing adventure.

Here’s a few second video of the frenzy.  There were hundreds of dolphins and we stayed with them for quite some time.

Way too soon it was time to head back in.  We had a couple welcoming committees waiting for our return.

That was it for Monday.  Tuesday was a work day.  We had laundry, cleaning and final grocery shopping to do.  Then, we decided to have Mexican food for dinner.  That was a mistake.  El Torito sits on the wharf close  by Cannery Row.  We like Mexican food and we like waterfront dining.  We thought we really lucked out because we got an amazing window seat.  Well, we did luck out with the seating but not so much with the food.

It’s been a long time since we’ve had absolutely awful Mexican food.  However, after eating at El Torito we really did.  Even with the view, we would never go back.

 
As one might suspect when we start making reservations, some of those reservations will probably be changed.  We did just that.  We’ve decided to add a little detour to our route.  Thus, cancelling reservations and making new ones was necessary.  Thursday we head towards Santa Barbara for a few days and from there where are we going?  Well, all I'm going to say is that it’s a small world after all.

‘Tis life on the road.

If you can dream it, you can do it.